


The Remus Swap

by LoopyLiesey



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Reality, Canon-compliance, F/M, Fanon, M/M, wtf is going on?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-20 08:59:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/885429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoopyLiesey/pseuds/LoopyLiesey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a spell hits Remus Lupin on his way to Charms class, he wakes up in a universe that is not his own. </p><p>This fic follows two different Remus Lupins, one from a Wolfstar (canon-compliant), and one from a Snupin (fanon) universe, as they find themselves in the opposite reality.</p><p>Written for just a bit of fun and laughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As all terrible things do, this story began because I once had a dream in which I was a Wolfstar!Remus and woke up in a Snupin universe and was completely confused. 
> 
> I know, it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, and all that rubbish, but it was a hilarious dream and I decided to write it. 
> 
> I am a major Wolfstar shipper, but I'll be sure to try and include just as much Snupin as I do Wolfstar, since it's just as 'important' to this story. 
> 
> I will clarify which 'reality' I'm writing about by writing 'Wolfstar universe' or 'Snupin universe' and bolding it before the story continues.

**Wolfstar Universe**

The morning of January 30th 1978 seemed to be like any other. Remus Lupin woke up with Sirius Black next to him, drooling on to his cheek. Remus wiped it off with a disgusted look on his face, and pushed at Sirius, causing him to fall off the bed with a loud crash.

“Every morning, dammit, Remus!” James said from his bed.

“He drools on me!” Remus exclaimed, looking down at Sirius who was now awake, but looking very drowsy, rubbing his backside.

“Don’t let him on your bed then. It’s designed for one person,” James said, groaning as he sat up.

“You telling me that if you had the opportunity you wouldn’t let Lily share your bed?” Remus asked. James didn’t answer, as he got out of bed, and went into the bathroom.

James didn’t have a problem with Sirius and Remus’s relationship. Remus and Sirius had kept things quiet for a few weeks, unsure of how James and Peter would react, but in the end, James had walked in on Remus and Sirius while they were snogging. At first there’d been a lot of awkwardness, James not being able to look either of them in the eye, but then he decided that if they were happy they were fine, as long as they didn’t ask him to join in at any point. Both Remus and Sirius had made disgusted faces and noises at that idea.

The rest of the morning went just like many others. The four Marauders went down to the Common Room together, where they were joined by Lily Evans, who didn’t talk to any of them, but instead started snogging James as if she would never see him again. Remus, Sirius, and Peter were all sickened by it and went ahead, leaving the two to go down to the Great Hall and have breakfast.

The first class that day was Transfiguration, where they were trying to turn their desks into animals. James and Sirius had already succeeded in the last class, and so McGonagall had them helping others who were having difficulties with it. Sirius decided to try and cause Remus discomfort while pretending to help him, standing directly behind Remus as he showed him the correct wand movement, whispering softly into his ear, breathing onto his neck.  

“Stop it!” Remus snapped.

“Stop what?” Sirius asked innocently, reaching and taking Remus’ wand hand, doing the wand movement again.

“I’d have a better time getting this spell if you would leave me alone!” Remus exclaimed.

“I don’t want to leave you alone,” Sirius replied, managing to step closer to Remus, his chest pressed against Remus’s back.

“I’m going to get you back for this,” Remus muttered, not even looking around, “Just you wait.”

“I’m counting on it,” Sirius breathed into Remus’ neck before taking a step back, and starting to speak louder, “Alright, let’s see you do it then.”

By the end of the lesson, Remus had gotten the spell, thanks to the fact that McGonagall had sent Sirius to help Peter, and Remus was left alone, thank Merlin.  

After Transfiguration they had Charms, and they started to head to the Charms class, Sirius walking close to Remus. Remus knew what Sirius was doing. It was irritating, but Remus would get Sirius back for it later.

They turned the corridor into the next corridor when there was a burst of light, and Remus collapsed.

* * *

 

**Snupin Universe**

Remus Lupin always made sure to wake up before his dormmates, going into the bathroom before any of them could wake up so none of them would see his scarred body, and leaving the dormitory to join his friends just as they started to wake up.

His dormmates were not exactly the nicest of people. While James Potter and Peter Pettigrew didn’t seem to have any sort of problem with him, Sirius Black absolutely hated him. Six and a half years of sharing a dormitory, and Remus still had no idea why. Potter, Black, and Pettigrew were all pranksters, with not much of an idea of when things went too far, and because of Black’s hatred for him, a lot of it was aimed at him. Remus ignored it most of the time, like his friend Lily had suggested way back in first year, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t annoying.

Down in the Common Room, Lily was already waiting for him. Remus got up early out of necessity. Lily Evans got up early because she was an early riser, a morning person, and always annoyingly cheerful in the morning.

“Good morning, Remus!” Lily said. Remus gave her a smile in reply, not really much wanting to open his mouth. Together they went down to the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table, but kept an eye on the door into the Great Hall, and watched as Severus went and sat down at the Slytherin table with a wave towards them. Remus and Lily waved in return before continuing to eat, and when they finished the walked out of the Great Hall and stood in the Entrance Hall, waiting for Severus.

They weren’t there very long when Severus did came out of the Great Hall, a smile on his face as he placed a kiss on Remus’s lips. Remus was smiling as they broke apart, and Lily giggled.

“You two are too adorable,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“Oh, yeah, so adorable, Snivellus and loony loopy Lupin,” Black scoffed as he passed them by, “You need your eyes checked, Evans. Snivellus is greasy haired and Slytherin, and there’s something seriously wrong with that Lupin.” Lily, Remus, and Severus ignored him and Potter and Pettigrew, before they started to walk towards class.

When Severus and Remus had first gotten together, there was a bit of talk around the school, but it had died down fairly quickly, as no one paid much attention to the quiet Lupin and the friendless Slytherin. Not that Severus was friendless, but his only friends were two people from Gryffindor, one of them a Muggle-born, and it hadn’t made him very popular in Slytherin. Most of the Slytherins tended to ignore them, but there were a few – namely future Death Eaters – who had been particularly cruel to the two of them when the news first came out. Other than them, it was only Black who had actually had an issue with it.

When Black wasn’t around, Potter had told Remus that though he didn’t much like that Snape bloke, it wasn’t his business who he shagged, and that as long as Remus didn’t try to get it on with any of his dormmates, he didn’t particularly care about his sexual orientation either. Remus knew that Pettigrew was likely to just go along with whatever Potter said. But Black had been particularly cruel about it. He’d already disliked Remus, and it just got worse.

“Remus? You really shouldn’t let him bother you.” Remus blinked, and looked at Lily, who was smiling at him.

“Yeah, I know,” Remus replied.

“You were really distracted there,” Lily said.

“I know. Sometimes I wish I knew what I did to make Black hate me so much, because his friends don’t,” Remus said.

“Who knows what goes on in that head,” Severus said, shaking his head, “Just a few more months, though, and we’ll never have to see him again.”

“I don’t know,” Lily said, “As much as I don’t like Black, he’s very loud with his opinions about Death Eaters and Voldemort, we could very well be fighting alongside him.”

“You intend to fight against them?” Severus asked, surprised.

“Of course,” Lily said, “I can’t just be passive about it while they’re eliminating people exactly like me.”

“She’s right,” Remus said, “And though he’s trying to recruit… well, my kind, I know exactly how they’ll treat me, less than human. Of course we’re fighting. It does mean we’ll have to fight alongside him. That will be a disaster.”

“We might not have to ever see him even if we’re on the same side,” Severus said, moving past his surprise that Lily and Remus wanted to fight. He should’ve known they would.

“I hope so,” Remus said, as they went into Transfiguration and took their seats, three of them together. 

Transfiguration wasn’t one of the classes any of them were best at, though they weren’t terrible at it either. Severus’ best class was definitely Potions, and while Remus was awful at it, with Sev’s help, Remus had been able to pass his Potions O.W.L, and Slughorn even had a place for Remus in the N.E.W.T level classed. Charms was Lily’s best class, and Defence Against the Dark arts was Remus’s. They all helped each other with all of them, and then worked hard together in the classes they had more trouble in, like Transfiguration, though it annoyed the three of them to no end that Potter and Black seemed to do brilliantly in most of their classes without so much as lifting a finger.

Transfiguration was always a good class though. Black and Potter didn’t dare misbehave in Professor McGonagall’s class, just did the work, and it made things much easy for Lily, Remus, and Severus to do their work and learn the spell. All three of them mastered the spell by the end of the lesson, and afterwards they went on their way to Charms.

Remus wasn’t listening to Lily and Severus as they discussed the properties of a few Potions ingredients that had nothing to do with what they were actually studying in Potions at that moment, so he let his mind wander to memories with Severus. They had gotten together near the end of sixth year, shy and unsure around each other. They’d been friends for a long time, and it was finally Lily who just told them to snog already and get it over with.

The summer had been different from others. Because Lily and Severus lived close to each other, it was often Remus who would stay with them for a couple of weeks during the summer, but the past summer, they also went over to Remus’s often, and they had been there the morning after both full moons, like they were at school. It had been nice to see them so often during the summer.

“Remus! Remus!”

Remus was distracted from his thoughts by Lily’s calls, and he looked up and smiled at her.

“What?” he asked, “I was just thinking about the summer. You know I stop listening when you talk Potions.”

“We stopped-” Lily was cut off by a flash of light and then Remus lying on the ground, unconscious. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Snupin universe**

Light was pouring into the Hospital Wing as Remus woke up. He was feeling disorientated, like something was off, though he woke up in the Hospital Wing at least once a month. He didn’t quite know what it was, but he felt… off.

“Remus! Oh, Remus, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Remus blinked a couple of times to see Lily standing over him with a grin. Lily was there. Why was Lily there? Yes, Lily was his friend, but he’d have thought it would be James, Peter, and Sirius at his bedside, and maybe Lily. Not just Lily.

“Yeah, I guess I am. What happened?” Remus asked, rubbing at his eyes.

“We were on our way to Charms and then there was this burst of white light directed at you, and you collapsed,” Lily said, “Don’t you remember?”

“Yeah, I think so. Sirius was messing with me, I think,” Remus said.

“Sirius? Since when do you call Black by his first name?” Lily asked, sounding slightly disgusted, “No, Black and his friends weren’t anywhere near us. It was you, me, and Sev.”

“Sev?” Remus asked, sitting up and staring at Lily like she was a lunatic, “You mean Snape? You still call him Sev? I thought you hadn’t been friends in a couple of years?” Maybe Remus was dreaming. Nothing seemed right.

Lily looked utterly confused.

“Do you have a concussion? How badly did you hit your head? Why would I stop being his friend. And you don’t call him Snape, either. That would be pretty weird considering he’s your boyfriend,” Lily said. Remus’s eyes widened.

“Boyfriend?” he asked, aghast. This had to be a dream. There was no way that Severus Snape was his boyfriend and that he referred to Sirius as ‘Black’.

“For nearly a year now,” Lily said, “You really did hit your head, didn’t you? I’ll get Madam Pomfrey.”

“No, wait. Don’t. Lily, listen to me. Severus Snape isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a Death Eater in training, I would never date him. I’m dating Sirius,” Remus said. Lily stared at him with confusion before she burst out laughing.

“Sirius? Sirius Black? Don’t be ridiculous! He hates you!”

“No, Snape hates me. He hates what I am, he hates my friends-”

“He is one of your friends. Well, he was before you started snogging. And as for what you are, it took him awhile to come around to it when we first found out, but I talked him around, remember? That was back in second year!” Lily said.

“No, no, that’s wrong. James, Sirius, and Peter found out in second year. It took Peter a short time to get used to it, but they were all very accepting. Snape found out in fifth year, and you didn’t find out until earlier this year when you started dating James,” Remus said. Lily burst out laughing again.

“Me date James Potter? You’re mad! That would never happen!” Lily exclaimed. Remus closed his eyes, panicking. This had to be some horrific dream, maybe he could force himself to wake up. To find Sirius worried about him, and for Sirius to kiss him.

He wasn’t waking up.

“Lily, do you know what spell hit me? Because I think I’m the wrong Remus.”

* * *

 

“’The wrong Remus’? What does that even mean?” Lily muttered to Sev as they walked together up to the Hospital Wing. After Remus’s announcement Lily had called Madam Pomfrey in and then headed to class, taking her seat next to Sev. They spent the rest of the day worried about Remus, and now it was after dinner they could go see him in the Hospital Wing.

“Well, you said that he was saying that stuff about dating Black,” Severus said, pulling a face, “And being friends with Potter and Pettigrew. Maybe he’s from an alternate reality.”

“That’s ridiculous. Even if alternate realities exist, there is no way you would be able to find yourself in one,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“He must’ve. And that means – Lily, that means that our Remus has probably found himself in a universe where Black expects to be able to snog him,” Severus said, shuddering at the thought of Black’s hands on his boyfriend.

“He’s going to be just as confused as this Remus, if that’s the case,” Lily said as they reached the Hospital Wing. Lily opened the door, and the two of them made their way to Remus’s bedside. He was sitting up in bed, drinking some pumpkin juice. He gave the two of them a tentative smile as they sat down on two seats that were next to his bed.

“How are you feeling, Remus?” Lily asked.

“Confused. Completely confused,” Remus said, “And… worried. What if I get stuck here? I need… I don’t belong here.” He was directing his words towards Lily, which hurt Severus a little, though Severus understood.

“Is this even possible?” Lily asked. Remus shrugged.

“Must be,” Remus said, then sighed, “The problem is that I have absolutely no idea how this happened.”

“Dumbledore might know,” Lily said.

“I doubt it,” Remus said, still not looking at Severus, “When has something like this ever happened before? I would guess never.”

“I would say that’s a fairly good guess,” Severus said. Remus glanced over at him before looking away quickly. Severus Snape being friendly to Remus just didn’t fit into Remus’s mind. Snape had always hated him, back home. But perhaps he was going to have to get used to it. He doubted Dumbledore would be any help trying to get him back home.

“Madam Pomfrey says that I can go, so perhaps we should go talk to Dumbledore. Do either of you know the password to his office?” Remus asked. Lily and Severus shook their heads, and Remus tried not to groan. James and Sirius would know, because they’d been up there just two days previously. James may have been Head Boy, but he still caused a lot of trouble.

“Aren’t you Head Girl, Lily?” Remus asked.

“I am, but that doesn’t mean I know the password. He tells us when we need to go see him, and he changes it often,” Lily said. Remus sighed as he got off the bed.

“Well, hopefully it’s the same here as it is back home, because there I am friends with two of the biggest trouble-makers of the school,” Remus said with a brief smile.

“We can’t just… go to his office,” Lily protested.

“Why not?” Remus asked, and walked into Madam Pomfrey’s office to talk to her, and Lily and Severus looked at each other.

“That’s definitely not… I mean… it’s Remus, but it’s not,” Severus said, shaking his head, “He won’t even look at me.” Lily put a hand on his shoulder.

“I know, Sev. But you know… where he’s from, Severus Snape hates him,” Lily said. Severus nodded as Remus came out of the office.

“Come on, then,” Remus said, smiling, and Lily and Severus stood up and followed Remus to Dumbledore’s office in silence. As they reached the entry to his office, Remus stopped.

“Ice Mice,” Remus said, and grinned as the entry opened, glancing at Lily and Severus, before walking up the steps, Lily and Severus followed him. Reaching the office door, Remus reached up to knock on the door. They waited, and then the door opened.

“Mr. Lupin!” Dumbledore exclaimed, looking very surprised, “You are never so kind as to pay me a visit. Miss Evans, Mr. Snape. Come in, come in.” He walked back into his office, taking the seat behind his desk, and making three chairs appear. Remus followed him in without hesitating, taking one of the seats, but Lily and Severus glanced at each other, unsure, before they followed, taking the other two seats, Lily in the middle one.

“What can I do for you this fine evening, Mr. Lupin? I hear you had an accident earlier today, and that you were in the Hospital Wing?” Dumbledore asked. Remus nodded.

“That’s why I came to see you, sir. It seems… it seems whatever happened caused me to… swap,” Remus said, unsure how to explain. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

“Swap?” Dumbledore asked. Remus nodded.

“I woke up to find Lily, and only Lily, which was my first clue to something being wrong. And then she started talking to me about Sna-Severus. I’m not from here, Professor. I’ve somehow swapped with the Remus from this… universe. Where I’m from, I’m friends with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, yet apparently here I’m not friends with any of them and Sirius hates me. Not to mention… well, Sna-Severus and I don’t get on,” Remus said, knowing it was a major understatement to say they didn’t get on, but he didn’t see the point in going into details.

“That’s impossible…”

“It happened,” Remus insisted.

“I do believe you, Mr. Lupin. I know there is a theory about alternate realities, and I suppose this is just proof of that. The problem, Mr. Lupin, is that we have no idea how this happened. I will look into the incident from this morning, and see what I can uncover from that, but for now, I believe you will have to resign yourself to being stuck here,” Dumbledore said.

Great.

* * *

 

**Wolfstar Universe**

Remus opened his eyes to find Sirius Black peering over him. Sitting up quickly, he stared at him with shock.

“What on earth are you doing here, Black?” Remus asked, alarmed. Remus looked around and saw Peter Pettigrew and James Potter standing at the end of his bed, and Lily stood next to James, her arm looped through James’s.

What on earth was going on?

“I’m worried about you, you were hit with something, and you went collapsed. You’ve been unconscious for an hour,” Sirius said, and Remus had to admit that he did sound very concerned, “Where else would I be, Moony?” Remus was confused. Who was Moony? Why would Sirius Black be worried about him? Why were Black’s friends standing around his bed, and why did Lily appear to be with James Potter?

“I don’t know who Moony is, but last time I checked, Black, you hated me,” Remus snapped, “Lily, what’s going on?”

“It’s just like Sirius said. He’s worried. Obviously. Who wouldn’t be worried about their boyfriend?” Lily asked.

Boyfriend?

Had Lily just inferred that _Sirius Black_ was his boyfriend?

Lily of all people should’ve known that that could never happen, especially since he was with Sev and loved him.

“Black’s not my boyfriend!” Remus exclaimed. Hurt passed over Sirius’s face.

“Maybe he has a concussion,” Lily said quietly.

“Even with a concussion, I know for a fact that Sirius Black hates me and has for as long as I’ve known him, Potter and Pettigrew are friends with Black, so they’re not exactly my friends, and may I ask, where the hell is Sev?” Remus asked, getting more frustrated by the second. He noticed that the four of them all looked very surprised, and Lily looked hurt. She closed her eyes, then turned to James, whispering in his ear. James nodded.

“Pads, Wormtail, let’s go. Let Lily talk to him,” James said. Peter nodded, and he and James walked towards the door of the Hospital Wing, turning around as they reached the doorway. Sirius was still stubbornly standing next to Remus’s bed.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know what the hell is going on,” Sirius said, sitting on one of the seats. Lily and James exchanged a look, then James nodded, and he and Peter left the Hospital Wing. Lily took the other seat.

“Remus, something is really wrong with you. You have been friends with James, Sirius, and Peter since your first year. Snape hates you, and you hate him. You’ve been dating Sirius since May,” Lily said gently, though she looked a little angry when she mentioned Snape. Remus shook his head.

“No, that can’t be true. Sev… I’ve been with Sev for a year,” Remus murmured. Lily’s eyes widened, and Sirius stood up.

“This isn’t funny, Moony! Stop it!” Sirius exclaimed angrily, “Merlin, the very idea of you and Snivellus… I… that’s…”

“Sirius, calm down,” Lily said, “I think there must be more going on here. Remus knows a completely different life than we do. Whatever that spell that hit him was, it must’ve messed with his memory, or-”

“Or I’m in an alternate universe?” Remus suggested.

“Well, I suppose it’s a possibility. We should probably talk to Dumbledore,” Lily said.

“Lucky I know the password then,” Sirius said, “When Madam Pomfrey clears you to go, we’ll head to his office.” Remus nodded, though he barely looked at Sirius. What if he couldn’t get back home? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided against writing about the meeting with Dumbledore in the Wolfstar universe because it would be pretty close to identical to the one in the Snupin universe.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wolfstar Universe**

The talk with Dumbledore had not gone well. Dumbledore had no idea what had happened, or where to begin to right what had happened. So Remus was stuck in this bizarre world where Sirius Black wanted to snog him, and Sev hated him.

He’d been in this universe for a couple of days, and he had so far avoided talking to Black for the most part, and stuck to talking solely to Lily, though he had had a few friendly conversations with James Potter, which was more than he was used to. For the most part, James Potter ignored him back home. Here, James Potter was apparently one of his best friends, closer than Lily, even.

He was grateful that Lily was his friend here, too. He couldn’t imagine how things would be if he didn’t at least have her. One thing that was still the same.

Though she wasn’t the same.

Obviously she wasn’t going to be the exact same person he knew back where he was from, considering she was dating James Potter, and considered Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew her friends. It was still a shock to Remus when he first saw Lily and James snogging.

Lily had also told him that he needed to talk to Black.

That was fine for her to say, but she wasn’t the one who had been put into a completely disorientating set of circumstances. He understood things were much different between the Remus from this universe and Sirius Black than where he was from, but it still caught him off guard when he caught Sirius Black looking at him with that expression that Remus couldn’t quite explain.

Things had still been rather uncomfortable.

Back home, he knew where he stood. Black hated him. Remus avoided him as much as he possibly could. But here it was awkward. The only person Remus felt comfortable around was Lily, and she was constantly in the presence of James Potter, who was constantly with Sirius. So he was forced together with the person who was in love with him – or rather, the other Remus – who, for as long as he’d known him back in his own universe, had hated him, and the dislike was mutual.

Lily was right, about talking to Black, by sorting things out, so it wasn’t so damned awkward all the time, but he had no idea what to say, or how to begin the conversation, or how to even get Black on his own so they could talk.

Lily had fixed that, though. She had taken James and Peter, and told them to leave the two of them alone to talk, and so Sirius Black and Remus were sitting in the dorm, not saying a word.

“I don’t know what I should do. Should I apologise for what my counterpart has done to you in the other reality?” Sirius asked after a while.

“It’s not your fault,” Remus mumbled, “I know that. This is different… you are… well, you’re friends with me, right? No, more than that, even. Except… you have to know that I can’t… well…”

“I know. I don’t expect you… you’re not _my_ Moony. You have a completely different life. I understand that, even if I can’t agree with your taste. _Snivellus_ ,” Sirius said, and made a wretching noise.

“Well, at least your hatred for him is the same,” Remus said with a smile. Sirius chuckled.

“I just really don’t like the idea that you hate me,” Sirius said softly. Remus looked up at him, and saw that Sirius was looking down at his bed, picking at the bed cover.

“I think we can be friends,” Remus said quietly, “I really want to go back home, where everything makes sense to me, but it will be easier if, while I’m here, it’s not awkward between us all. You’re not the Sirius Black who has been pulling horrid pranks on me for seven years.”

“When you get back, just prank him back,” Sirius said, “It will earn his respect… wow, talking about myself in the third person. But it’s not me… this is bloody confusing.”

“If it’s confusing for you, just imagine what it’s like for me,” Remus said. Sirius chuckled lightly.

“How… how awful am I to you?” Sirius asked quietly. Remus shrugged.

“You play a lot of pranks on me. Always have. For the most part I avoid you. Anything you say to me is cruel,” Remus said, “Except, it’s not you, is it?”

“You’re very forgiving,” Sirius said, “That’s something you have in common with… yourself? Oh, this is bizarre.”

“What do you mean?” Remus asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Sirius said, not wanting to get into the Snape thing. Remus frowned, but nodded, noting that Sirius was clearly uncomfortable about it. He wondered if he would ever find out what he was talking about.

The dormitory door opened, and James, Peter, and Lily walked in.

“Have you talked?” Lily asking bluntly, crossing her arms as she walked into the middle of the dormitory.

“Yeah,” Remus said.

“Good,” Lily said, smiling at Remus, “I know it’s difficult for you, but we may as well make things easier while you’re here.”

“You think I can get back?” Remus asked.

“I hope so. You don’t belong here. Our Remus doesn’t belong there. It has to be righted. Now, that’s not to say I don’t like you…” Lily said, blushing slightly as she realised how it may have sounded. Remus chuckled.

“I understand. I want to go back home. It makes more sense to me. This makes no sense at all,” Remus said, “Never thought I’d have a civilised conversation with Sirius Black.” Remus smiled at Sirius, hoping he wouldn’t take offense to that. He hardly knew this Sirius Black, though he knew he wasn’t the same person that he knew, but he still didn’t want to upset anyone, since it would make things difficult.

Sirius just laughed.

“This will make a brilliant story to tell someone one day,” Sirius said.

* * *

 

“Just because you’re not our Remus doesn’t mean you can’t help us planning this prank,” James said. Remus looked up from his book with surprise. Sirius, James, and Peter were sitting with him at the chairs next to the fire, and they had been talking amongst themselves. Remus had, for the most part, blocked out their conversation.

“I don’t… prank?” Remus asked, frowning. James and Sirius stared at him in shock.

“I knew we’re not friends in your universe, but you don’t prank at all?” James asked, “But that was… our Remus is a freaking genius with this stuff. He’s also very good at not getting caught.” Remus raised an eyebrow.

“I… he… what?” Remus asked, stumbling over his words, shocked at the idea that any embodiment of himself could prank, or cause trouble, nevertheless being good at it. James and Sirius laughed.

“You really are very different,” Peter said, “Not that that’s a bad thing, it obviously works for where you’re from, but our Moony is different. Similar in other ways, though he mostly pretends to disapprove.”

“You call him ‘Moony’. Why?” Remus asked, though he was almost positive it was because of the full moon.

“We all have nicknames,” Sirius said, “He’s Moony, I’m Padfoot, James is Prongs, Peter is Wormtail.”

“Okay, so obviously he’s Moony because of… well, I’m assuming you know since you call him ‘Moony’,” Remus said. They nodded.

“Your furry little problem,” James said with a smirk, “So yes, that’s why you – he’s Moony.”

“Explain your nicknames, then,” Remus said. The three of them exchanged looks.

“We’ll have to show you. But not in here. Let’s go up to the dormitory,” James said. Remus watched as the three of them stood up and started to walk towards the stairs, so Remus stood up, and followed the three of them up to the dormitory. They entered the dormitory, and as they walked in, James locked the door with his wand.

“You might want to sit down,” James said. Remus looked confused, but sat down on his bed.

“What’s this all about?” Remus asked.

“We found out what you – what Remus is in our second year, and we wanted to do something to help him. I’m sure we don’t have to tell you just how awful those transformations are,” James said. Remus shook his head.

“We looked into it for a while, and then found out that werewolves are only dangerous to humans, not animals,” Sirius said, “So, we decided to become animals.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’ll show you. It will explain better,” Peter said. Remus was utterly confused, especially as, right before his eyes, Peter became a rat.

“You’re – you’re Animagi?” Remus asked. Instead of answering, Sirius transformed, turning into a massive black dog. After Sirius transformed, James did, and in his place stood a majestic stag.

Remus didn’t know what to say, and he wondered what the other Remus had thought and how he had reacted when he found out. This was incredibly illegal, and very dangerous, but they had risked it for him. Or, at least, for the other Remus.

He watched as they all transformed back into themselves.

“Moony was speechless, too,” Sirius said with a grin, “Though he did yell at us, also. Illegal and dangerous. As if we didn’t know.”

“We didn’t want him to be alone. And if – if you’re still here the next full moon, you don’t have to be alone, either,” James said.

“Really?” Remus asked, “This is something you share with… with him.”

“You may not be our Remus, but you are still Remus Lupin, and you deserve to have at least one full moon where you’re not alone and attacking yourself,” Sirius said. James and Peter nodded in agreement, and Remus smiled. It wasn’t an ideal situation, he missed home, he missed _Sev_ , but at least things here wouldn’t be completely horrible.

* * *

 

**Snupin Universe**

Lily, Severus, and Remus sat in the library, doing some homework, when Lily stood up.

“I forgot my transfiguration textbook. I’ll go get it, then I’ll be right back,” Lily whispered, walking off. Remus and Severus watched her go, then looked at each other.

“She’s not very subtle,” Remus said, “Just like the Lily I know.” Severus smiled slightly before going back to his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay. Remus scrawled a few words on his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay, glad that it was the exact same one he’d been assigned back at home.

“This is awkward, I’m sorry,” Remus said. Severus lay his quill aside and looked up at Remus.

“It’s not your fault,” Severus said.

“No, it’s not,” Remus said, smiling a little, “You know, your counterpart from the other world would be finding all sorts of ways to be blaming me for this… though I don’t imagine he’d have any idea what was going on.” Severus just watched him, not saying anything.

“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you? Okay, here goes nothing. The alternate reality I’m from we don’t get on, but I know this is different, and I think it would be easier if we had some sort of… understanding while I am here, especially if this is long-term. This is, obviously, a huge shock for me, and it would help to have another friend here other than Lily, especially since we’re going to be in each other’s company so much,” Remus said.

“I can try,” Severus said, “But… do you… We can try.” Remus smiled at him.

“I know I’m not your Remus, and that you must miss him,” Remus said, “I’m sure something can be figured out so that this can be righted.”

“I hope so,” Severus agreed, “You’re nice enough, I suppose, but…”

“I know. It’s not the same at all. How do you think I feel when I see Sirius sneering at me? Everything’s all wrong,” Remus said.

“It’s not wrong,” Severus said, slightly offended.

“Right, yeah, sorry. It’s not wrong. It’s just completely different,” Remus said, sighing, “I really miss my life.”

“And I miss being able to kiss my boyfriend,” Severus said.

“Same,” Remus said with a sigh, “Though to be honest there’s be more than kissing.” Severus made a face.

“I really don’t want to hear about that,” Severus said, “I still hate Black, and you still look exactly like my Remus, and even if you’re not quite the same as him-”

“I get it,” Remus said, smiling, “This is so messed up.” Severus laughed.

“In so many ways.”

* * *

 

Remus was laying on his bed in the dormitory when the door opened and James walked in, and went to his trunk, looking around for something.

“You’re alone?” Remus asked. James jumped backwards and turned around to look at Remus.

“Lupin! I didn’t see you! You startled me!” James exclaimed.

“Sorry,” Remus said, “But if you are alone, I wanted to talk to you.” James looked confused.

“We don’t talk,” James said.

“This is important,” Remus insisted, “I would’ve tried to talk to you before, but I know Sir-Black won’t talk to me.”

“How could anything important have anything to do with me?” James asked, turning back to his trunk and continuing to search through it.

“You looking for your Invisibility Cloak?” Remus asked innocently. James spun around again and stared at Remus.

“How do you know about it, and who have you told?” James asked, walking to the end of Remus’s bed.

“Let me talk, and I’ll tell you,” Remus said with a smile. James’s eyebrows raised in shocked.

“You’re different,” James said.

“I know. That’s what I have to talk to you about. I’m not the same Remus you know,” Remus said, smirking slightly, knowing it would confuse James. He was enjoying this.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m from an alternate reality. The other day when that jet of light hit me I somehow swapped with the Remus from this reality. Where I’m from, you’re one of my best friends,” Remus said, “Snape hates me, and you date Lily.”

“Evans? I date Lily Evans? Really? Wow, I gave up on her ages ago. I’m dating her?” James asked, then shook his head, “No, why am I even listening to this, this is ridiculous. Are you trying to prank back for once, because this isn’t a very good attempt.”

“If I wanted to prank you, I would, and it wouldn’t be this,” Remus said, “Where I’m from, I’ve been friends with you for 7 years and I’ve learnt all of yours and Sirius’s tricks, not to mention I have my own that you don’t know. This isn’t a prank. I’m telling you the truth. That’s why I know about the Invisibility Cloak. Don’t worry, though, I haven’t told anyone, and I don’t plan to.”

“You don’t?” James asked, “But you’re such a stickler for rules!”

“No, I’m not. The Remus that belongs here may be, but I am not. I’ve been friends with you for too long. You corrupted me. You and Sirius,” Remus said.

“Look, you’ve had your laugh, but this is stupid. I’m just going to grab what I need and get out of here,” James said.

“You won’t find the cloak,” Remus warned him, “I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I hid it, about half an hour ago. I had to do something to try and convince you that I’m not the same Remus you know.”

“Why is it so important that I know?” James asked.

“Like I said, where I’m from you’re one of my best friends. You, me, Peter, and Sirius. I knew Sirius wouldn’t listen to me, and Peter tends to just follow along with the two of you, so I decided to try and talk to you. It would be nice if, while I’m here, I have something somewhat familiar to me, other than Lily. Even if I can only talk to you when Sirius isn’t around,” Remus said, trying really hard not to sound any more emotional when he mentioned Sirius.

“I suppose you can talk to me, then. But can you give me my Cloak, or Sirius is going to come up here wondering why it’s taking so long, and I don’t think you want that,” James said. Remus sighed, and nodded.

“Go out into the corridor, I’ll grab it and hand it to you,” Remus said.

“I can’t know your hiding place? I thought we were friends?” James said with a smirk.

“Yes, we are. Which is exactly why you can’t know my hiding place,” Remus said, getting off his bed. James chuckled, and went out into the corridor. He didn’t know what to think of what Remus had just told him, but he was acting completely different from the Lupin James knew, so he knew there must be some truth to what he was saying. No one made a complete turnaround so quickly.

The dormitory door opened, and Remus handed him the Cloak.

“Have fun,” Remus said, before going back into the dormitory and shutting the door behind him. James shook his head, and went back down the stairs to Sirius and Peter. For now he would just forget about it, and think about it later. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Snupin Universe**

“I can’t believe you told Potter,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“I had to, Lily,” Remus replied, “You have no idea how difficult this is for me, knowing that I can at least be friendly with someone who I’m used to thinking as one of my best friends is really helpful.”

“I can’t believe he listened,” Lily said.

“I sort of… forced him too. Can’t tell you how, before you ask,” Remus said. Lily sighed.

“I don’t see why you had to tell him,” Lily said, “Soon enough you’ll be back home and we’ll have our Remus back, and things will go back to normal.”

“Will they?” Remus asked, “Depending how long I’m here, things could change. For example, I think that maybe you should go on a date with James.” Lily stared at Remus in shock.

“Excuse me?” Lily asked.

“Look, maybe it won’t work out in this reality, but where I’m from you are a really good couple. You work together. You could be happy with him. You don’t know unless you give it a shot. Just go on one date with him, see how things go,” Remus said.

“I’m not going to go out with him. He’s an arrogant, immature prat,” Lily said. Remus chuckled.

“The Lily I know used to think that as well. Now, I don’t know exactly how different things are here, but he has reason to be somewhat arrogant. He is an excellent Chaser. His head has deflated a lot, hasn’t it? It seems to me that he is very similar to the James I know. Which means that lately he’s grown up. Yeah, he still pranks, still has jokes, but it’s needed right now. For him it’s all just good fun. It’s Sirius who takes it too far, who is cruel about it. Same back home, too,” Remus said.

“You know he can be cruel, and yet you date him,” Lily said, shaking her head.

“It’s not – it’s difficult to explain, Lily. He’s only ever really cruel to Snape, and to be honest, back home, he deserves it and gives as good as he gets,” Remus said, “There, he’s a Death Eater. Or at least, will be. Everyone knows that that group are Death Eaters in training.”

“I hate the idea of Sev being a Death Eater,” Lily said, “I’ve been friends with him since I was nine.”

“I know. You hate it there too. That Lily has come to terms with it. But this Severus won’t be,” Remus said, “Or at least, if he did, I’m sure the Remus from this world would drop him.”

“He would,” Lily agreed, “I don’t see what this has to do with Potter.”

“I got sidetracked, Lily. I just think you should give it a shot. You never know, you could be very happy with him, and have a wonderful life together,” Remus said.

“You’re a big old romantic,” Lily said, laughing.

“No one dating Sirius Black back in some alternate reality could possibly be romantic, they would be severely disappointed,” Remus said, “I just know you and James suit each other. At least, you do where I’m from. You could here, too.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean you think the Remus and Black from here would, too,” Lily said. Remus shook his head.

“Oh, no. Definitely not. Things are different here. I don’t think he could ever move past his hatred for the other Remus. Even if he did, I’m sure the other Remus and Severus are happy. Alternate reality means things are different, but it doesn’t have to mean everything is,” Remus said. Lily sighed.

“Fine. I’ll give Potter a shot,” Lily said.

“You might want to call him James,” Remus said cheekily. Lily swatted the back of his head as she stood up, and walked across the Common Room to where James sat with Sirius and Peter.

“Po-James. I’d like to talk to you,” Lily said, “Privately.” James looked confused, but followed Lily out the portraits hole.

“Is this about Lu-Remus? He told me about the bizarre situation. If I heard this from anyone other than Lu-Remus I’d have though he was high,” James said.

“For all I know that Remus doesn’t get high, he’s friends with you lot,” Lily said, shaking her head. James shrugged, knowing it was a very real possibility, “No, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. I have decided, if you’re still interested, to go on a date with you. You have Remus to thank. Convinced me to give it a try.”

“Really?” James asked, “I never thought – I mean, he told me that in that other reality – really?”

“Yes, Po-James. Anyway, as Head Boy and Girl, I suppose we should put on a show of unity,” Lily said.

“Okay. Well, next Hogsmeade weekend then? That’s a couple of weeks away,” James said.

“Sounds great,” Lily said, a small smile, “I’ll see you then.” Lily turned to go back into the Common Room, but James caught her arm.

“Can you tell Remus that I’m going to try to convince Sirius to let Remus tell him about… everything? If what Remus says is true, then… well, I think Sirius should know, and that he should hear it from him,” James said. Lily tilted her head slightly, studying James, then nodded, smiling.

“I will. Maybe Remus was right. Maybe you have grown up,” she said, and went back into the Common Room, leaving James puzzled. The idea that Remus Lupin had stepped in to try and get the two of them together was a ridiculous one, but compared with what Remus had told him the night before, it was incredibly normal.

* * *

 

Sirius Black stared at his best friend like he was mad.

“You want me to have a civilised conversation with _Lupin_? So that he can tell me something that is supposedly important? What would be important that he has to tell me?” Sirius asked. James sighed.

“Look, let’s just go up to the dormitory and let him explain,” James said, “Please?”

“Why?” Sirius asked, “Why does it matter to you? Has Evans gotten to you? Haven’t even gone on a date yet, and she’s already got you wrapped around her finger. Women.”

“Oh shut it, you shirt-lifter,” James said, “It has nothing to do with Evans. He’s nice guy, Sirius. Just listen to him.” Sirius groaned.

“Fine. Where’s Pete?” Sirius said.

“Up there already,” James said, “Come on.” Sirius rolled his eyes as he got out of the chair and followed James up to the dorm. When the entered the dorm, James locked the door and went to go sit on his bed, which was next to Remus’s. Remus was lying back on his bed, watching Sirius as Sirius went to sit down next to James. Peter sat on a pillow on the floor between the two beds.

“So, what is this all about?” Sirius snapped.

“I’m not the Remus you know,” Remus said, not taking his eyes off Sirius.

“I don’t exactly know you,” Sirius said.

“I’m aware,” Remus said, “It’s just… well, the other day I was hit by a spell, and somehow ended up in the wrong universe.”

“Excuse me?” Sirius asked, looking at James, “Do you hear this? He’s mad!”

“Just listen, Sirius,” James said. Remus shot a grateful look to James before he looked back at Sirius. Even with the hatred in Sirius’s eyes, Remus still felt so many things for him. It wasn’t even the same Sirius.

“Where I’m from, we’ve all been friends since first year. Snape hates us all, even me. He’s in the group of Slytherins who everyone knows will be Death Eaters after Hogwarts,” Remus said.

“Are you high?” Sirius asked, “That’s ridiculous.” Remus laughed.

“Not at the moment,” Remus said, “Though I have been before. With you.” Sirius’s jaw dropped open, before he looked at James.

“He’s not the Remus we know,” James said with a smirk, “Makes you believe him, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe. Alright then. If we’ve been friends since our first year, you tell me something about me that I know the other Remus doesn’t know,” Sirius said. Remus hesitated, thinking what he could say to really convince him. There were some things he knew which the other Remus could know if he’d overheard them talk.

“Sirius. Are you sure?” Remus asked, concerned, knowing the things he could say to convince him best would be the same things that would hurt him the most.

“Go ahead,” Sirius said, “Unless you’re lying for some reason.”

“Fine,” Remus said, “You won’t like it though. You were five years old when you were taught your first dark curse.” The room tensed, and Sirius’s eyes narrowed.

“Fine, I believe you,” Sirius said angrily, “There’s no way in hell the other Remus would possibly know that, and say it so calmly. I don’t know why you wanted to tell me, anyway. Maybe we’re friends where you’re from, but it’s not going to happen here.” He stood up and unlocked the door, storming out and slamming it after him.

“So you’re from a different universe?” Peter asked, “That’s so weird. What’s it like there?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you another time, Wormtail,” Remus said distractedly.

“Wormtail?” James and Peter asked together in confusion.

“Oh! Nothing, don’t worry. Nicknames. Weird nicknames that we have,” Remus said, silently cursing himself. Here, there was no reason for them to become Animagi, so they would never have those nicknames, “I wasn’t thinking.”

“You seem disappointed,” James said, as he realised Remus was still looking at the door. Remus shrugged.

“I expected worse, to be honest, but I had hoped… it’s not important. We couldn’t possibly have the same relationship here that I have with him back home,” Remus said.

“You could be friends,” James said, “If you give him time.”

“No, James. We couldn’t possibly have the same _relationship._ The Remus from here-”

“No!” James interrupted Remus, sounding scandalised, “You and Sirius are together where you’re from! Wow. I mean, I knew Sirius was gay, and you are too, obviously, you’re with Snape, but that – wow, what a plot twist!” Remus chuckled.

“I’m glad you can see the funny side. There was a reason I didn’t want Sirius to know that. It’s not ever going to happen here. When this gets put right, the other Remus will be with Severus. They’re happy together, as far as I can tell,” Remus said, shuddering slightly, “Never thought it could happen, but with alternate reality theory, I could be with anyone in other universes.”

“Does that mean that somewhere out there _I_ could be with Snape?” James asked, pulling a face. Peter snorted.

“Probably,” Remus said, “Maybe there’s one where the two of you are sneaking out and shagging in closets.” He grinned at Peter and James, who made faces at each other.

“You’re my friend, and I love you, Pete, but no,” James said.

“I agree,” Peter said, shuddering again. He looked up at Remus, who seemed to be distracted, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Fine,” Remus lied. He missed home. He missed Sirius. He missed the friendship he had with James and Peter. He missed the nicknames.

But thinking about all of this had made him realise that if he was still here the next full moon (which wasn’t too far away), then he would be all alone.

* * *

 

**Wolfstar Universe**

Remus sat next to Peter at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Lily and James, Lily handing him a note.

“Professor Dumbledore wants to see you after dinner,” Lily said, “That’s the password.” Remus nodded.

“Thanks, Lils,” Remus said quietly, taking the piece of parchment and quickly pocketing it. Maybe Dumbledore had found a way to send him back home. He could only hope.

He finished eating, and stood up.

“I’ll see you later,” Remus muttered, and walked out of the Great Hall, and headed towards Dumbledore’s office, taking out the piece of parchment as he went to look at the password. As he walked toward the office, he began to hope that he would soon be home, that everything would be right once again. He was sure the other Remus was perfectly happy here, but he wasn’t. He missed the Lily he knew, he missed Severus, and strangely enough, he missed Black hating him the way he did. That was what was right in his mind. This Black – no, Sirius looked at him with a mixture of love and hurt. It was weird.

He reached the entry to the Headmasters office and uttered the password, and climbed the stairs and knocked on the door. Professor Dumbledore called for him to come in, so Remus walked in, taking the seat opposite Dumbledore’s.

“Mr. Lupin. I’m glad you could come. I need to tell you about the progress that has been made towards fixing your problem,” Dumbledore said.

“Progress?” Remus asked, “That means I can’t get home.”

“Not yet,” Dumbledore said with a kind smile, “But I can tell you how it happened. And knowing how is an important step in remedying the problem. It appears there is some sort of wall between the different universes, and for the most part they hold up very well. But somehow there was a crack in the wall, and you and the Remus that belong here seemed to be in the exact same place at the exact same time when the crack opened and the two of you were somehow switched.”

“So, to get back, the other Remus and I have to be in the exact same place at the exact same time a crack opens?” Remus asked, “That seems like far stretch. I’m stuck here.”

“No, you are not. Knowing this means we can manipulate things. We will figure this out, and things will be put right, Remus. I promise,” Dumbledore said. Remus nodded, and was reassured by Dumbledore’s calm tone. Dumbledore was a great wizard, and Remus knew he could trust him to fix things.

“Thank you, sir,” Remus said. Dumbledore smiled kindly at him.

“Now, why don’t you run along and help these new friends of yours with the prank they’re planning for Valentine’s Day?” Dumbledore said with a smile.

“You know they do it?” Remus asked.

“Of course,” Dumbledore said, “But there’s no point punishing them for something they haven’t done yet. Sometimes plans go awry.”

“Does the Remus that belongs here cause as much trouble as them?” Remus asked. Dumbledore smiled.

“Yes. But you mustn’t think they are a bad influence. I believe you probably also have a mischievous side, but it’s been suppressed by your friendships, rather than the Remus who belongs here, whose mischievous side has been brought out by Mr. Potter and Mr. Black. They are all very good friends, no matter what trouble they cause. There are very few friendships that are as strong as theirs,” Dumbledore said, “While you’re here, you might learn something.” He smiled at Remus, and Remus nodded, standing up.

“It’s an alternate reality, professor. Just because things are that way here doesn’t mean they are or should be anywhere else,” Remus said, before turning around and leaving the office, not wanting to hear what else Dumbledore had to say about the friendship that unnerved him. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a little longer than the others, I apologise. I've been posting it as I finished writing each chapter. Hopefully the next one won't take too long either.

**Wolfstar Universe**

February 14th was, this year, a Tuesday, which meant that James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew had spent the weekend planning all sorts of mischief for the so-called day of love. They’d tried to involve Remus, but he told them he wasn’t interested. If he was completely honest with himself, he did feel a little interested. It had always interested him to know how the three of them had pulled off the stunts they pulled off.

But he didn’t prank. Maybe the Remus Lupin of this universe did, but he didn’t.

That morning, the Hogwarts populace went down to breakfast, some with dread, some with excitement, and others (the younger students) didn’t really care. Remus smiled a little as he saw couples giving each other gifts, kissing each other, hugging each other. It made him miss Severus. He and Severus had had one Valentine’s Day together before, last year, and Severus had simply given Remus chocolate. Remus had given Severus a photograph of the two of them. It had been simple, but they had both loved it.

This year he was alone, even though he knew Severus back at home would be missing him.

Sitting at the Gryffindor table he glanced next to him at James, who was jiggling his knee, waiting impatiently for Lily. Apparently, it was their first Valentine’s Day together, and James wanted it to be perfect. On James’s other side, Sirius was looking quite dejected. He was probably feeling just as alone as Remus did.

Lily came down, and ignored Remus and Sirius as she snogged James, her arms thrown around his neck. At least they were happy today.

“Cheer up, Remus,” Peter said, “Look, you have something.” Remus looked up from his breakfast to see there was a gift in front of him. He looked at it suspiciously, and poked it with his spoon. The wrapping paper around it was pink with red hearts.

“Who would give me anything?” Remus said, “The only person in this universe who would – well, it’s a waste of time. Is this part of your prank?” No one said anything, though Sirius and Peter glanced at each other, which gave Remus his answer. He decided to ignore it as he finished eating his breakfast.

“Open it,” James said after he surfaced, “Sirius has one too.”

“I do?” Sirius asked in surprise, “I thought we just wanted to cheer him up, what do I have to do with it?”

“Yours is different,” James said, “I know you miss Moony.” Sirius made a face as Peter place the gift in front of Sirius.

“I don’t trust you,” Remus said, looking at the one in front of him.

“You’re right not to. Every day other than today,” James said, “Just open it.” Remus hesitated before he took it and opened it slowly to find a box of chocolates.

“Do I open it and the chocolates explode on my face?” Remus asked sullenly.

“Just do it,” James said, rolling his eyes, “That’s not really our style. Much too obvious.” Remus decided against opening it as he pushed the box away. He really wasn’t in the mood for this rubbish. He stood up and left the Great Hall, rolling his eyes as red and pink confetti fell on his as he went through the archway out of the Great Hall.

The rest of the day Remus avoided James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily as best he could. Every now and then as he went through the halls ‘Valentine’s Howlers’ erupted, in which people were told of a secret admirer’s love for them – in fact it had just been Sirius and James, enchanting them to sound different from their own voices.

At the end of the day, Remus lay on his bed, pretending to read while he thought about home, and what Severus would be doing that day. He knew he’d be missing him. Of course he would be. But would he be avoiding everyone like Remus was?

He missed Severus. He missed that hook nose that other people seemed to have a problem with. He missed the quiet sarcasm that really made you think about what he was actually saying. He missed being able to kiss him, to hug him, and these feelings of missing him were only amplified by the fact that it was Valentine’s Day. Now Remus understood why some people hated it.

* * *

 

**Snupin Universe**

Sirius was avoiding Remus was best he could. It was different than before – before, Sirius had teased Remus, had pranked him. Now he was just ignoring his existence.

As far as Remus was concerned, that was worse. And it was time to do something about it.

He knew that this universe was different. He knew that in this one he and Sirius couldn’t ever be anything more than friends. That was fine by him. Being friends with Sirius would be more than enough, especially while he couldn’t get back home. Oh, how he wanted to be home.

For now he would try to replicate certain things from home, and one of those things was pranking.

He couldn’t prank with James, Sirius, and Peter. Sirius was avoiding him, and James and Peter would be unlikely to do it without Sirius. He could do it on his own, but that would be a last resort. It just wasn’t as fun. So he had to convince Lily and Severus to join him.

“That’s ridiculous,” Lily said, shaking her head, “Look, I know where you’re from that’s normal for you, but we’re not going to start doing childish, immature pranks. Anyway, I don’t think pranks are a good idea if I’m going on a date with James Potter this weekend.”

“Actually, it’s a great idea. James would love a girl who can have a laugh at a good prank. Pranks aren’t all bad, Lily. They can be ingenious, and just some fun for everyone involved. And pranking is the language they understand, what they respect. You’re all going to be fighting on the same side, regardless of whether you and James ever go beyond a first date. You need some sort of understanding. This can set that of,” Remus said.

“I do see your point,” Severus said slowly, “But it doesn’t – I don’t see Lily and I being very good at this.”

“You don’t have to be,” Remus said, smiling, “You have me. I know all their tricks, plus I have some of my own. This will be brilliant.”

“I’m in, then,” Severus said, “It will be nice to see them on the other side of it.”

“Are you sure they’ll appreciate it, rather than just start more problems?” Lily asked, frowning.

“How do you think I became friends with them in the first place, Lily? I earned their respect by pranking. It will work,” Remus said, smiling assuredly.

“Remus, I know you want to be able to talk to Sirius, as a friend if nothing else, but I just don’t think that’s possible, here. And I don’t think pranking is the answer. As Head Girl, I could and should forbid you from doing it,” Lily said.

“But you won’t?” Remus asked.

“Just – just give me a day or two. Okay? If, in two days’ time I haven’t said anything about it, then go ahead. Just hold tight for now,” Lily said. Remus frowned, confused, but agreed. Lily smiled at him before standing up.

“I’ll see you two later,” Lily said, before walking out the door.

“What is she planning?” Remus asked with trepidation. Severus shook his head.

“I really don’t know what goes through that girls mind,” Severus said, “Though I suspect she wants to do something about Black avoiding you before we start pranking. Brilliant idea, by the way. We would never have thought of it.”

“I’m sure the other Remus would. He’s still me,” Remus said, “Eventually.”

“Ten years from now,” Severus said, smiling.

“Is he really so different from me?” Remus asked.

“You are the same person, essentially. When it comes down to it. You’ve just been influenced by Black and Potter for seven years, and our Remus hasn’t,” Severus said.

“That makes it sound like I don’t have a mind of my own,” Remus said.

“That’s not what I’m saying at all,” Severus said, “I doubt Potter or Black could stick you if you didn’t.” Remus laughed.

“You’re probably right,” he said, “I just hope Lily isn’t going to go do something stupid.”

“It’s Lily,” Severus said, and didn’t elaborate further. Remus supposed he just had to interpret what he meant.

* * *

 

“Black! Hey, Black!” Lily called out. Sirius turned to see Lily running after him in the corridor.

“What do you want, Evans?” Sirius asked, “Realised Potter wasn’t what you really wanted, and decided to come after me?” He winked.

“As if, Black. I just want to talk to you,” Lily said.

“I have nothing to talk about with you,” Sirius said. Lily sighed, and grabbed Sirius by his elbow, pulling him into the empty classroom they were conveniently standing outside of.

“It’s about Remus,” Lily said after she closed the door, letting go of Sirius’s arm.

“I really don’t care,” Sirius said.

“You should. Look, I know you don’t like him, but this Remus is not the same as the one we know. Believe me. You would like him. Can’t you just talk to him? Please?” Lily asked.

“Is he sending you to do his dirty work? That doesn’t sound like someone I would like much,” Sirius said.

“He doesn’t know I’m talking to you,” Lily said, “In fact, he’d probably hate that I am.”

“Then why don’t you save everyone a load of hassle and leave me alone about it?” Sirius suggested.

“You are so bloody stubborn!” Lily exclaimed. Sirius’s eyes widened, surprised at Lily’s cursing, “What is your problem? Yeah, I didn’t think it was a good idea for Remus to tell any of you, since it was just going to cause him disappointment, but he did tell you. You know the situation he is in. Why can’t you be a decent person and make it easier for him?”

“I already know you don’t think I am a decent person, Evans,” Sirius said, shaking his head, “This has nothing to do with me. I don’t give a shit that in whatever universe he comes from he’s friends with another Sirius Black. That’s not me. That’s not this universe. And we shouldn’t have to pretend otherwise.”

“You could at least be civil to him. Talk to him a bit. You don’t have to be friends,” Lily said.

“No.”

“You are so infuriating! James is at least giving this a chance. He’s friends with Remus. Why can’t you?”

“James and I aren’t the same person, Evans,” Sirius said, “That’s his choice. This is mine. And don’t think I didn’t notice your usage of his first name.” Lily groaned.

“I hate you. I really do,” Lily said.

“Yeah, I love you too, Evans,” Sirius said easily, “Please don’t corner me again. I couldn’t give a rat’s arse.” Sirius walked out of the room, and Lily closed her eyes, still infuriated with him. He was such a bastard! Was it really so hard to just be a little nicer to Remus? Apparently it was.

James was being much more mature about it. Lily was starting to see what Remus meant about James having grown up. Perhaps the date this coming weekend would be more enjoyable than Lily originally thought it would be. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a while again, I know. I'm sorry.

**Snupin Universe**

Lily had given Remus the go ahead for his pranking idea but told him to wait until after her date with James Potter. .

Oddly enough, she was really looking forward to it. For years she had thought James was some arrogant, childish idiot, but lately he had really proved her wrong. The way he had taken everything with Remus had really impressed her.

It was Saturday, now, the day of the Hogsmeade trip, and she had her date with James Potter. She went down to breakfast like any other morning, blushing slightly when James winked at her, taking her seat next to Remus. Remus was grinning.

“Is that a blush I see?” Remus teased, making Lily blush harder.

“No idea what you’re talking about,” Lily replied, taking a piece of toast and spreading marmalade over it.

“You’re looking forward to this date, aren’t you? Told you James wasn’t all bad,” Remus said.

“Wait, what?”

Remus and Lily glanced behind them to see Sirius had stopped behind them.

“What do you want, Black?” Lily said coldly as Remus turned around quickly, resuming his breakfast, not wanting to talk to Sirius.

“Did I hear that correctly? Lupin told you James wasn’t that bad, and that’s why you decided to go out with him?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Black,” Lily snapped.

“It’s my business if my friend gets hurt because of some sort of misguided revenge on…”

“You know what?” Remus said, turning around to face Sirius, standing up, “Maybe you only do things to be cruel to people, but I don’t. James is a good guy, and I only shared that opinion with Lily. Lily decided to try going on a date with him. There’s no attempt at revenge here, because if it was, it would be aimed at you, not James, who is a much more decent person than you.” Sirius looked taken aback, and everyone at the Gryffindor table was now looking at Remus and Sirius, and they had garnered the attention of a few others from the other tables.

“As if you could pull any sort of revenge on me,” Sirius snarled over a moment.

“Hm, perhaps not. But only because I wouldn’t lower myself to your level. Lily is going on a date with James because she chose too. Not for any other reason, though I’m sure she appreciates knowing what you really think of her,” Remus said.

“You don’t need to protect me, Remus,” Lily said, “I’m sure James know I’m going out with him because I want to, and that’s all that’s important.” Sirius glared at Remus, before continuing to walk down the table, sitting down alone. James and Peter were still in the dormitory.

Remus sat back down next to Lily, ignoring the whispers and looks he was getting.

“Nice one, Lupin,” said a Ravenclaw who Remus had never seen in his life, though he wondered if perhaps the Remus from here had, “Black has been pushing you around for far too long. Nice to see you grew a backbone.” Remus grimaced.

“Perhaps I always had a backbone but didn’t want to cause trouble,” Remus suggested.

“Well, you’ve definitely proven that you belong in Gryffindor,” the Ravenclaw said, walking back to his table.

“I didn’t think I needed to prove it to anyone,” Remus said, shaking his head.

“Ignore him,” Lily said, “And you didn’t have to defend me, I can defend myself,” Lily said.

“I know you can, Lil,” Remus said, “Believe me, I’ve seen you. He was just getting on my last nerve. I miss _my_ Sirius.”

“Does he know you’re possessive? Sounds like an unhealthy relationship,” Lily said with a grin. Remus made a face.

“You know what I mean,” he said, shaking his head.

“I do,” Lily said, smiling, watching as James and Peter walked into the Great Hall, nodding at Remus and Lily as they walked by and sat down next to Sirius. Sirius remained silent while James tried to talk to him, picking at his food sullenly. Remus watched Sirius surreptitiously from down the table, and jumped when Lily put her hand on his shoulder.

“Stop watching him,” Lily said with a laugh, “I have to go, James is waiting for me. Maybe you could go to Hogsmeade with Sev?” Remus shrugged.

“Yeah, maybe I will,” Remus said, “People have got to be wondering what’s going on with us. When the other Remus comes back no doubt the relationship will go back to normal.” Lily nodded, smiling at Remus before walking out of the Great Hall. Remus scanned the Slytherin table and spotted Severus. He knew it would be best not to go over to the Slytherin table, so he decided to wait until Severus left the table and meet him outside the Great Hall. He was a little unsure about this. He knew the Remus from here and Severus must have gone on plenty of Hogsmeade trips together, even before they were dating, but it still unnerved Remus a little when Severus was actually nice to him.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sirius get up with Peter and the two of them walk out of the Great Hall. Peter smiled at Remus as he went by, but Sirius ignored him, and Remus was grateful, though unsurprised. Sirius often mulled over things for a while, being sullen and miserable after a confrontation. Sirius could hold his own, there was no denying that, but if someone called him out on something, he would be grumpy about it for a few days. Well, the Sirius from Remus’s home was, and he suspected that they were the same.

Watching Sirius and Peter leave, he wondered what they were doing back at home. He missed all his friends so much.

* * *

 

**Wolfstar Universe**

Remus didn’t want to go to Hogsmeade.

At home he would be spending the day with Lily and Sev, though at one point Lily would leave quietly, so that Sev and Remus could spend some time together, just the two of them. They would get a Butterbeer, go by Hogsmeade, and then go into one of offshoots of the main street, finding somewhere quiet to just sit and talk, and perhaps snog a little.

Here, James and Lily were spending the day together, some romantic date planned by James, and Sirius and Peter were trying to convince Remus to join the two of them in Hogsmeade, telling him they’d show him a very different experience than what he’d have at home.

He had no doubt of that, but he didn’t want a different experience. He just wanted to be home.

Remus appreciated the way they’d all accepted him. The fact that he wasn’t their Remus, but they still made an effort to include him, to joke with him. They had been so nice to Remus, but it was too much for him.

He appreciated that he didn’t have to wake up early to avoid pranks, or Sirius making fun of him. He liked that he could get along with his roommates. But it was so different to what he was used to, and he wasn’t sure if he could handle things being that different any longer. He just needed some time to be by himself.

“Oh, come on, it’s not like you’ve been to Hogsmeade with us before. You haven’t had a Hogsmeade trip if you haven’t had one with the Marauders!” Sirius said proudly.

“I really just want to stay back,” Remus said, “Everything has been overwhelming lately, I need time to breath.” Sirius looked concerned.

“Are you sure?” he asked. Remus nodded.

“I’m sure. You go,” he said, smiling. Sirius sighed, and grabbed Peter’s arm, and started to walk out of the dormitory, giving Remus a final glance before dragging Peter out. Remus opened his trunk to look for a book before he relaxed on his bed and started reading, trying not to think about home, Sev, Lily, and his new friends here who were doing their best to make things as welcoming for him as possible.

* * *

 

Sirius and Peter sat in the Three Broomsticks, drinking Butterbeer as Peter rambled about something that Sirius wasn’t listening to. Sirius was thinking about Remus – both Remus’s, in fact. His own Remus, the one stuck in some universe where he hated him, the one Sirius missed, and the one that was here now, who was quieter that Remus (Sirius hadn’t even known that was possible), who looked at Sirius as if he expected him to bite his head off, who was overwhelmed in an impossible situation.

Sirius wished there was something he could do to help Remus feel more comfortable here, and to help get both Remus’s back to where they belonged. He knew Dumbledore was working on it, and Sirius, as brilliant as he was, was nothing compared to Dumbledore. Dumbledore would find the answer before Sirius could even begin to. He just hoped that it would be soon.

“Padfoot. Padfoot. Pads!” Peter said impatiently.

“What? I was listening. Linda Darby, I know, she’s a good-looking one, right,” Sirius said.

“Linda Darby was four months ago, Padfoot,” Peter said, shaking his head, “Though at the time you were snogging Moony, so I’m surprised you even knew that name.” Sirius looked sheepish.

“Sorry, Wormtail,” Sirius said, “I was just thinking about Remus.” Peter rolled his eyes.

“When aren’t you?” he asked.

“This time it wasn’t dirty thoughts,” Sirius said. Peter blanched, and Sirius chuckled, “I just wish there was something we could do for him. For both of them, as bizarre as that sounds.”

“I think we’re doing as much as we can do. I’m sure Remus feels very welcomed by us, despite everything,” Peter said. Sirius shrugged.

“Maybe,” Sirius said, “I still feel we could do more. I want to do more for him.”

“Let’s just continue to be his friend, and back off when he wants to be alone, like today,” Peter said, “And then be there for the full moon, since it looks like he’ll still be here on Wednesday night.”

“Crap,” Sirius said, closing his eyes, “I do think Remus deserves a transformation where he’s not alone, but Moony will be alone.” He sighed.

“He’ll be okay,” Peter said, “He’s gone through transformations alone before. He’ll cope.”

“I just wish he didn’t have to,” Sirius said, taking another sip of his Butterbeer, “This Remus will sure have a different experience though. He’s not my Remus but I still care about him.”

“It’s Remus. You care about all different types of Remus. You’d still care about him if a Remus turned up who had slept with a hundred different men or women or both, or a Remus who had become like the werewolves we hear about in stories,” Peter said, “You, Sirius, will always care about Remus Lupin.” Sirius grinned.

“You’re right. Bloody Remus Lupin,” he said, shaking his head, laughing. Remus Lupin, four simple syllables, but four syllables that made Sirius feel a hundred different things at once. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter should be a full moon chapter, and I have plans that shall take place maybe in the next chapter but probably in the one after that. Sometime soon I think I'll be wrapping it up though. This was never going to be a particularly long fic.


	7. Chapter 7

**Snupin Universe**

Wednesday had Remus anxious about the coming night, the full moon. He was distracted throughout class, and hardly paid attention to anything Lily or Severus said to him.

It had been quite some time since Remus had gone through the full moon alone, and he wasn’t sure how things would be different. He also had no idea whether his roommates knew about him, though he suspected that they didn’t. Why would they?

“Lily,” Remus said as they went up to the Common Room after dinner, “What time does Remus normally go down to the Hospital Wing? Maybe I should go now, so no one notices I leave?” Lily smiled at him.

“Normally he stays as long as possible, and if anyone asks you where you’re going, you just say you’re going to the library. People forget that you’ve disappeared, and the next day everyone just thinks you’re sick again. James, Black, and Pettigrew have never questioned it,” Lily said. They went into the Common Room and saw James, Sirius, and Peter sitting by the fire. Lily smiled in James’s direction as Remus and Lily sat down.

“You can spend the evening with James if you want,” Remus said, smiling, “I can leave early.”

“What are you going to do then?” Lily asked.

“Talk to Madam Pomfrey. Honestly, I should anyway. I don’t know how different this month will be,” Remus said.

“What are you going to tell Madam Pomfrey?” Lily asked, frowning.

“I don’t know how much Dumbledore has told her, but I figure I should tell her the truth. As best I can,” Remus said, giving Lily a half-hearted smile, “Look, I’ll go now. I’ll see you maybe tomorrow.”

“Sev and I will come by the Hospital Wing tomorrow,” Lily promised. Remus smiled gratefully at Lily before he walked out of the Common Room. Lily decided to go join James and his friends, sitting down on the seat next to James. Sirius didn’t look happy about Lily sitting there, but James beamed.

“Lily!” James said. Lily grinned and kissed his cheek, blushing slightly as she did so. James went slightly red too, but looked pleased. Sirius pulled a face.

“Where’d Lupin go?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” Lily said, “Especially since you’ve made it quite clear you hate him.”

“Who says I hate him?” Sirius asked.

“You don’t need to say it, Black,” Lily said coldly, “As I said, it’s none of your business where he went. Why do you care, anyway?”

“I don’t,” Sirius said defiantly, before standing up and storming up to the boys’ dormitory. James and Peter watched him, but Lily ignored him.

“Lily…”

“Save it, James,” Lily said, “I know I need to get on with Sirius if I’m going to date you, but right now it’s not going to happen. Not with the way he’s treating Remus.”

“I understand,” James said, “I don’t like how he’s treating Remus either, but he’s my best friend.”

“I know,” Lily said, and leant over to kiss him quickly on the lips. Peter looked away pointedly.

“You don’t have to do that here, you know,” Peter said.

“It wasn’t like it was a full-on snog,” James said, “You’ll have to get used to it.”

“Once I get over the shock that it’s actually happening, maybe I will,” Peter said, shaking his head. Lily smiled at Peter, understanding why he was in shock. Half of the time, she was shocked to find herself dating James Potter. It wasn’t something she had ever expected to happen.

“Can I come with you when you go see Remus in the Hospital Wing tomorrow morning?” James asked quietly after Peter had gone up to bed.

“Why would Remus be in the Hospital Wing?” Lily asked warily.

“He is every month the night after the full moon,” James said, “You know we’re not stupid. We know. We just figured Dumbledore wouldn’t let him in the school if it was actually a problem. We’ve never told him we know.”

“You know,” Lily said flatly. James nodded.

“It took a bit of convincing with Sirius not to complain, but I figured, even a few years ago, that he’s a decent guy who deserves to be here at Hogwarts. Dumbledore isn’t going to put his students at risk, either,” James said.

“Maybe you should tell him. I mean, when he comes back,” Lily said, “Tell him you don’t mind. It will help him.”

“I will,” James said, nodding, “But please don’t hope that Sirius and Remus will ever be friends.”

“No, I doubt that will happen,” Lily agreed, “It will be nice for him to know though, that his roommates don’t care. I hope he’s okay in the other universe.”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” James said, “The you from the other universe will make sure of it.” Lily laughed, before kissing James again.

* * *

 

Remus woke up in the Hospital Wing, feeling worse than he had the last few transformations. He blinked a few times when he spotted Lily standing at the end of the bed. There was someone (or was it two people?) behind her, but he didn’t see before he was engulfed in a hug.

“Lily, I’m okay,” Remus muttered, “You can let go.” Lily did so.

“Are you sure? I mean, did the transformation go differently in any way, since you’re not you? Or you are you but not this you? Oh, this is just ridiculous!” Lily said.

“It’s worse than it has been lately, but no worse than what I’ve had before,” Remus said, looking around her to see Severus and James. His eyes widened in alarm and he looked at Lily.

“What’s he doing here?” Remus muttered to her. Lily glanced at James.

“He knows. Apparently he’s known for a while. So have Black and Peter,” Lily said, “He wanted to come by and make sure you were okay.” Remus sat up, looking at James.

“Look, I don’t care if you know, I’m going home at some point, but are you sure you don’t mind? Because Sirius really hates me,” Remus said.

“It took a lot of convincing, but I pointed out to Sirius that Dumbledore wouldn’t have let you in the school if there was actually any danger,” James said. Remus shifted uncomfortably. Back home his friends were in danger every month, and another student had been put at risk, even if that had been because of Sirius. There was danger.

“There’s always danger when a werewolf is involved,” Remus said quietly, “And I hope you never underestimate that.”

“Of course not,” James said, “I should go. I’m glad you’re okay.” He offered Remus a smile before turned away and walking out of the Hospital Wing. Remus turned to Lily.

“Are you sure he knew?” Remus asked.

“He was the one who brought it up,” Lily said, “They haven’t gotten you kicked out of the school yet, and they’ve known for a few years. You shouldn’t worry.”

“It’s not me that I’m worried about it’s… well, it’s me. The other me,” Remus said, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry, when all this is sorted out James is going to sit down and talk with him,” Lily said.

“Are you sure?” Remus asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. Look, I better go tell Madam Pomfrey you’re awake so she can check over you,” Lily said, walking into the Madam Pomfrey’s office. Remus looked at Severus.

“What do you think of them all knowing?” Remus asked. Severus shrugged.

“They’re your dormmates, no doubt they were going to figure it out. I’m just glad they don’t seem to care. I’d hate if Remus was kicked out of school,” Severus said, “Do you know how Dumbledore is going with fixing this?” Remus shook his head.

“Last I knew he knew the cause but they didn’t yet know how to fix the problem. I’m sure he’s working on it, though,” Remus said, “I hope so. I really want to go back home, and no doubt the other Remus does as well.”

“I miss him,” Severus said quietly, “I hope that doesn’t offend you, but-”

“It doesn’t,” Remus assured him, “I know I’m not the same as him, especially considering your relationship.” Severus gave him a small smile before Lily and Madam Pomfrey came over to the bed, and Lily and Severus left, saying good-bye to Remus.

* * *

 

**Wolfstar Universe**

When Remus woke up the morning after the full moon, he discovered four people waiting by his bed.

“How are you feeling?” James asked.

“Better than I can ever remember,” Remus said, “I’m still exhausted, and my body feels weary, but I don’t think I hurt myself.”

“You didn’t,” James said, with a smile, “It helps with us there.”

“Thank you,” Remus said, sitting up as Sirius handed him a block of chocolate. He gave Sirius a curious look.

“Well, chocolate helps after the full moon, right?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah it does, how did you – no, never mind,” Remus said, shaking his head. Of course he would know, he was dating Remus. The other Remus.

He missed home. Severus would’ve given him chocolate too.

“Maybe someone back home will become Animagi for you,” Peter suggested, “Since you know it works.”

“I couldn’t ask anyone to do that,” Remus said, shaking his head, “That’s so dangerous, and illegal.”

“Well, you’ve nearly finished school, haven’t you? They could do it legally,” Peter said.

“Your Severus might want to if he finds out it works. You might not have to ask,” James said.

“I think we should go,” Lily said, watching Remus carefully, “Or at least, the three of you should. He’s probably not used to you being around his hospital bed after a full moon.”

“You’re right,” James said, kissing Lily on the cheek, “We’ll see you in Transfiguration.” The three boys walked out of the Hospital Wing, Sirius sending Remus a final, worried look, before Lily turned to Remus.

“Are you okay?”

“I miss home, but there’s not much that can be done about that at the moment. Transformations are always difficult, but nothing can be done about that except what James, Sirius, and Peter already do. I’ll be fine,” Remus said. Lily nodded.

“You can talk to me about anything you need to, okay?” Lily said.

“I know, Lily. You should get to class,” Remus said, “I’ll see you later.” Lily grabbed Remus’s hand and squeezed it slightly before walking out of the Hospital Wing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is somewhat of a boring chapter, I know, but I have plans for the next chapter. I'm sorry about the delay, too. I've been having trouble writing in general, lately. Hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.


	8. Chapter 8

**Snupin Universe**

Remus was searching through his trunk for a book when the dormitory door opened, and he heard heavy footsteps. He didn’t turn to see who it was, thinking it was James or Peter as he continued his search. There was a possibility that this Remus hadn’t brought the particular book Remus was looking for, especially as Remus was reaching the bottom of the trunk.

“You haven’t seen my copy of – oh,” Remus said, turning his head to see Sirius standing in the middle of the room, “Sorry.”

“Why are you saying sorry?” Sirius asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Remus.

“Dunno,” Remus said, shrugging, “Seemed like I should.” Sirius stared at Remus, and Remus watched him carefully before looking away and starting to put his things back in his trunk.

“You want some help?” Sirius asked quietly. Remus looked at Sirius in shock, hardly believing what he’d just heard. Not even the Sirius back home would’ve wanted to help him.

“No, it’s okay. I have a particular order to things,” Remus said quietly, shoving his things away quickly. Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Sirius said.

“You don’t like me, and you don’t have to pretend to be nice to me,” Remus said, “I’ll be gone soon, the other Remus will be back, and everything will be back to normal.”

“No it won’t,” Sirius said, “Because James will still want to be friends with the other Remus. You being here has changed a lot.”

“It’s not my fault.”

“I didn’t say it was. I’m sure you want to be back home. I’m just saying that it’s changed a lot.”

“I’m sorry,” Remus said again, closing his trunk and sitting on top of it to try and make the lid stay down. If he’d folded things properly the trunk would close, but he hadn’t wanted to with Sirius in the room.

“You apologise an awful lot, even when it’s not your fault or you don’t know why,” Sirius said.

“Sorry,” Remus said again, laughing a little, “Right. I feel like I should say it again. I’ll just stop talking.”

“You don’t have to,” Sirius said.

“You don’t like me,” Remus said again, looking at Sirius as if he’d grown another head, “Why are you talking to me?”

“It’s not that I don’t like you-”

“But you don’t like me. You hate the Remus that belongs here. Why?” Remus asked, “What has he done that’s made you hate him?”

“I don’t know!” Sirius exclaimed, “I never got along with him. He’s all stuffy with his bloody books and with Evans, thinking they’re better than us, then he goes and dates Snivellus, so of course I think that’s disgusting.”

“They don’t think they’re better than you,” Remus said, shaking his head, “Just different. Look, I haven’t met the Remus that belongs here, but if he’s anything like me – and I think it’s safe to assume that he is – he thinks he’s less than you because of the way you treat him. They don’t look down on you. And why is who he dates so offensive to you? It’s not your business! Or are you just so far in the closet that you think being around another gay person will make it obvious that you are?”

“What? I’m not – I’m not gay!” Sirius exclaimed.

“I know you are, Sirius. Because I mentioned to James that in my universe you are, and he said you are here, too,” Remus said, stretching the truth a little. Sirius didn’t need to know that in the other universe the two of them were together.

“I can’t believe he would do that!” Sirius exclaimed angrily.

“Relax, I’m not going to tell anyone,” Remus said, giving up on trying to close his trunk manually, and pointing his wand at it after standing up. The trunk closed, and Remus pushed it under his bed. When he turned around, Sirius was closer to him, his hand on the bedpost.

“You swear?” Sirius asked, looking quite deranged. Remus reached up and placed a hand on Sirius’s shoulder.

“Why would I out you? That’s an awful thing to do. You’ll do it when you’re ready. Anyway, your friends already know, it doesn’t matter about anyone else,” Remus said, meeting Sirius’s eyes.  Sirius relaxed a little, giving Remus a small smile. Remus let go of Sirius, and was about to walk around him when Sirius leant forward and pressed his lips against Remus’s. Shocked, Remus didn’t do anything at first, but after a second he backed away.

“What are you doing?” Remus demanded, “The Remus here is dating Severus. When I get home I’m going back to my boyfriend. You can’t do that.”

“Who is your boyfriend back home?” Sirius asked. Remus hesitated. If he told him it was Sirius, he might take it as an invitation.

“Does it matter? You can’t do that,” Remus said.

“It’s the other me, isn’t it?” Sirius said. Remus closed his eyes, and gave a small nod.

“But we have a very different relationship. Please don’t do that again,” Remus said, before walking out of the room. What on earth had just happened? Had that been Sirius’s problem all along? He hated Remus because he liked him?

No. That was ridiculous. There was some other explanation. Sirius was probably confused.

Remus reached the Common Room and sat down next to Lily.

“I think it’s time to put the prank in place,” Remus said quietly. Maybe after that, Sirius would back off.

* * *

 

Remus made sure to wake up early, wanting to be awake when the prank started. He showered quickly, and went back into the dormitory as his dormmates were waking up.

“You’re up early,” James said.

“Yeah, I know, couldn’t get back to sleep,” Remus lied as Sirius took his clothing and went into the shower, being careful to avoid Remus by a large berth. Remus walked over to his bed as he started to organise his bag for the day, grinning as he heard the sounds of dismay from the bathroom, before quickly arranging his face into an innocent expression, looking up at the bathroom door as Sirius stormed out.

“Nice skirt,” James said, laughing. Sirius glared at James. Sirius was wearing the girl’s uniform.

“Who did this?” Sirius demanded.

“It’s just a prank, mate, calm down,” James said, shaking his head. Sirius started searching through his trunk, and was dismayed to find that all of his clothing had been transformed into girls clothes. He then turned to James.

“Do you have anything I can wear?” Sirius asked. After looking through both James and Peter’s trunks, they discovered that everything except what James and Peter were wearing had been transformed, too.

“You could ask Remus,” James suggested lightly. Sirius snarled, before turning to Remus.

“Why would he, he probably did this,” Sirius said.

“You can look through my trunk, if you like,” Remus said, pushing his trunk into the middle of the dorm. It was searched through, to find that all but what Remus was wearing had been transfigured, too.

“Guess Remus was a victim of the prank, too,” James said cheerfully.

“At least you have clothes you can wear,” Sirius said.

“Have you tried transfiguring them back yourself?” Peter suggested.

“I did with the first lot. It just made the skirt shorter, the top tighter,” Sirius said. James laughed again.

“Oh, this is going to be great. I wonder how long you’ll have to stay like that? All day, maybe,” James said, “I hope so. I can’t wait to see how everyone reacts.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I can’t!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Maybe you should act like it doesn’t bother you,” Remus suggested quietly, “If it doesn’t bother you, then whatever anyone says doesn’t matter.” Sirius narrowed his eyes as he looked at Remus, then his eyes widened as they lit up with understanding.

“Oh,” Sirius said. Remus offered Sirius a small smile before leaving the dormitory to meet Lily. Maybe in the future their pranks could include lessons for whoever they were pranking. He was looking forward to telling James and Sirius back home about this prank. He knew they would appreciate it.

* * *

 

**Wolfstar Universe**

“Ah, Mr Lupin, I’m glad you’re here,” Dumbledore said as Remus opened the door to his office. Remus took the seat opposite Dumbledore.

“Is this about getting me home?” Remus asked. Dumbledore nodded.

“Yes. I’ve managed to communicate with the Dumbledore from the other universe by putting notes through the cracks in the universe. It took a fair amount of time to find the right universe, too. We’ve managed to find a crack that will help get you home and return the other Remus back here. I would like you to be here tomorrow evening, just before 6, so we can right things. You can bring your friends along if you want, no doubt they’ll want to say good bye and welcome home their friend,” Dumbledore said, smiling at Remus.

“I – I can go home?” Remus asked, shocked. Dumbledore nodded.

“You can go home. You’ll be back where you should be tomorrow,” Dumbledore said.

“Thank you, sir,” Remus said, standing up and heading out of the office.

* * *

 

Remus watched the reactions as he told James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily what Dumbledore had said.

“You get to go home, that’s great. And we get our Remus back again. Not that we don’t like you!” James said, worried that he’d offended Remus.

“No, I know,” Remus said, “I’m just shocked I get to go home. I wonder how different things are there, now.”

“I think we should do something tonight. As your last night here,” Sirius said, “Sneak around after hours, get some food from the kitchens.”

“If we had more time we could plan a prank,” James said, before noticing Lily’s glare, “Or not. I have some Firewhiskey. We could head up to the Room of Requirement.” Remus shifted uncomfortably.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Remus said.

“And I thought you’d loosened up by hanging out with us,” Sirius said, a smile on his lips, “Come on, we’re all of age. A drink to celebrate you being able to go home. A drink to say good-bye.”

“Fine,” Remus agreed.

“Great. I’ll go get my Cloak and the Firewhiskey. Peter can transform into a rat, and we’ll head to the Room of Requirement, then I can go get food,” James said.

“Excuse me,” Lily said, “What if I want to join you?” James blinked.

“You do?” James asked, “Lily, we’re drinking. I thought you’d disapprove.”

“I understand why you’re doing this, and I want to say good-bye to Remus, too,” Lily said. James nodded.

“Okay, the four of us can go under the Invisibility Cloak with Peter transformed, then I’ll come back for you, and we can go get food together,” James said.

“I can cast a Disillusionment Charm, James,” Lily said, “If we go off together in your Invisibility Cloak we might forget the food.” James chuckled, and Sirius made a face.

“I really don’t want to think about it,” Sirius said.

“Oh come on, like you haven’t nicked my Cloak and gone off with Moony,” James said, rolling his eyes, “Okay, Lily can do a Disillusionment Charm. It’s probably best if Remus or Sirius have it done to them, it’s a bit of a squeeze under the cloak.”

A short time later, the five of them found themselves in the Room of Requirement with food and a couple of bottles of Firewhiskey. The Firewhiskey had been shoved into Remus’s hands, and he was drinking it very slowly.

“We’re trying to get you drunk, Remus, and you’re not even giving it a fair go,” Sirius complained.

“I’m not getting drunk!” Remus exclaimed. The other four just laughed, remembering times when Remus had in fact been drunk. Lily took the Firewhiskey out of Remus’s hands and took a large gulp, grinning before she handed it back to Remus.

“Go ahead,” she said. Remus sighed, before following Lily’s lead, handing the bottle over to Sirius, who was next to him.

Over the next couple of hours the five of them continued to drink, and they succeeded in their mission to get Remus drunk.

“Y’know,” Remus slurred slightly, “I wasn’t sure about you lot at all, but you’re not half bad.”

“Aww, thanks,” James said.

“I mean, you cause a lot of trouble and I still don’t have any idea how you beca-became Head Boy, but you’ve been great to me this last month,” Remus said.

“I don’t know how I became Head Boy, either,” James said, putting an arm around Remus’s shoulder, “Promise you won’t forget us?”

“I won’t.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realise I've been focussing more on the Snupin universe than the Wolfstar universe, but there's a reason for that. I don't want to change too much in the Wolfstar universe, since it's largely canon-compliant. 
> 
> I know the way to get back homes seems a bit rubbish, too, but this was always a crack!fic anyway. It's not supposed to be make sense. 
> 
> It was about time everyone returned home, there wasn't much more I could do with this story, and I really want to get on to how people will react to everything being put right again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Wolfstar universe**

Remus sat in Dumbledore’s office, with James, Sirius, Lily, and Peter. It was decided it would be best if they were there, to say good-bye to him and to welcome home the other Remus. Remus wondered if they did the same back home, if Lily and Sev would be there to welcome him back. It would be good to see his Sev again. To be back in his arms, to be able to kiss him again, to not have to put up with that awful sneer the Severus Snape here sent his way.

Lily hugged him, and he looked at Dumbledore, who glanced down at his watch.

“Just one more minute. You’ll be back home,” Dumbledore said. Remus smiled gratefully.

“Thank you,” Remus said, hoping they understood the thank you was for all of them. Thank you for looking after him, for welcoming him, for being so good to him. He smiled around the room, and then there was a flash of white light.

* * *

 

**Snupin Universe**

Remus let Lily hug him, and he shook the hands of James, Peter, and Severus. Soon, so soon, he would be home. He only hoped that things hadn’t changed too much. He knew the other Remus would have a shock when he came back, to find that he had two new friends, because he knew James and Peter would be his friends now. He would also find it a shock that James and Lily were dating now.

He did wonder how the Sirius here would treat the other Remus once everything was back to normal. The other Remus knew nothing about the kiss, and no doubt Sirius would want to keep it that way. Remus hadn’t told anyone, so there was very little chance of it getting out, especially now one half of the party was going to be gone. But Sirius could treat the other Remus differently, and he was a little worried about it. Would it get worse?

These thoughts consumed him, and he only managed a small wave at the others before there was a flash of white light.

* * *

 

**Wolfstar Universe**

They all watched as Remus collapsed on the ground. Kneeling down beside him, Lily took out her wand and whispered “Ennervate”, watching as Remus’s eyes fluttered open.

“Am I back?” he whispered. As Sirius knelt down next to him and came into his view, Remus grinned, sitting up and putting his arms around Sirius’s neck, “Yes, definitely back home.” Sirius grinned back at him, kissing him softly, and then helped Remus stand up. Remus looked around the room.

“It’s good to see you guys! Though, I was just with an alternate version of you guys not that long ago. I have a lot to tell you,” Remus said.

“It’s good to have you back, Moony,” James said, moving forward and pushing Sirius out of the way so he could give Remus a hug, “Yeah, we had the other Remus, but you are _our_ Moony.” Remus grinned, before turning to Peter and hugging him.

“I am glad that everything has returned to normal,” Dumbledore said, “I know, Mr Lupin, that you want to spend some time with you friends, but I am most interested in hearing about your trip. Would you come by tomorrow evening to discuss it?”

“Sure,” Remus agreed, as Lily hugged him, “I’ll be talking about it tonight. You can tell me about your visitor, too.” He looked at his friends, and they all nodded in agreement.

“Well, now that is sorted, why don’t the five of you return to Gryffindor tower to discuss it. Unless, of course, you know elsewhere you can go without getting caught, which I’m sure you do,” Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

“You want us to break the rules, Professor?” Sirius asked, in a mock aghast voice.

“I just suspect that you will, whatever I want,” Dumbledore replied. Sirius grinned at Dumbledore, and the five of them left the Head office and made their way to the Room of Requirement.

* * *

 

“I guess I should thank you, Moony, for getting the alternate James and Lily together,” James said after Remus told them about his ‘visit’. Lily hit him in the ribs.

“I always thought that Remus had a hand in it for us,” Lily said, looking at Remus sternly.

“All I did, both times, was give Lily a different outlook on James. Explain a few things to her. She was the one who chose to take it on board, think about it, and get to know the James she didn’t know,” Remus said, sighing, “It’s just that the two of you are good together, so it wasn’t that hard.”

“Would you have tried any harder?” Lily asked.

“No,” Remus said, “It’s your decision, and I respect that. I just knew you couldn’t make a decision with your very biased view of James.”

“It wasn’t biased! I had my reasons!” Lily exclaimed.

“Yes, you did, but they were outdated reasons since James had long since grown up and had stopped asking you out,” Remus said, “Are you really upset with me about this? You’re happy, aren’t you?” Lily sighed, and nodded.

“Of course I am. Anyway, James, Peter, we should probably go. Leave Remus and Sirius alone to… catch up,” Lily said softly.

“But we were just catching up,” Peter said.

“If you want to be in here while they shag, then by all means, mate,” James said, standing up along with Lily. Peter went green, and the three of them left, leaving Remus and Sirius in the Room of Requirement, just the two of them.

They sat together on a loveseat the Room had provided for them, unsure what to say to each other. Remus stared down at his lap while Sirius fidgeted with his trousers.

“I missed you,” Remus said quietly after a few minutes. Sirius smiled, reaching over to Remus, softly pulling his face towards him.

“I missed you, too,” Sirius said, and pressed his lips firmly against Remus’s, wrapping his arms around Remus and pulling him closer to him. Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius, one hand instantly going to Sirius’s hair, brushing his fingers through it. It was so nice to hold Sirius again, to have a Sirius who enjoyed his company, who wasn’t so utterly confusing.

They broke apart, and Sirius stroked Remus’s cheek gently with his thumb.

“Love you, Moony,” Sirius whispered, and Remus smiled.

“I love you too,” Remus said, “You have no idea how good it is to hear you say that, to be able to kiss you. The other Sirius has been giving me dirty looks, and then ignoring me.”

“I had a Remus who was acting perfectly friendly towards me but I couldn’t touch him. I had it pretty bad, too,” Sirius said.

“I hope we never have to be apart again,” Remus said, “It was awful.”

“I hope so, too,” Sirius said, leaning forward and kissing Remus. Remus wrapped his arms around Sirius, kissing back passionately, and enjoying the fact that he could kiss Sirius again.

* * *

 

**Snupin universe**

Remus’s eyes opened, and he looked around him, slightly confused. Sev was there, so obviously he was back home, but he didn’t understand why James Potter and Peter Pettigrew were there, too.

“Remus?” Lily asked tentatively, “Which Remus is this?”

“I… I don’t know. Sev?” Remus asked, looking directly at Severus. Severus smiled, and stepped closer to him.

“Well, you called me Sev, so that’s something,” Severus said.

“I don’t understand. If I’m back home, why are they here?” Remus asked, pointing at James and Peter. Everyone looked at Remus in shock.

“I completely forgot that we weren’t all friends before this happened,” Lily said, frowning, “I’ve gotten so used to them… well, Remus, a lot has changed. We should probably go somewhere and talk about it.” Lily took James’s hand, smiling. Remus stared at the intertwined hands in shock. He knew James and Lily were together back in the other universe, but he hadn’t expected it to happen here. That just showed what he knew.

“Why don’t we all go elsewhere to talk?” James suggested. There was quick agreement, and with Remus promising to come back the next evening to talk to Professor Dumbledore, they all left and found their way to the Room of Requirement.

There were two loveseats in there, one for Remus and Sev, one for James and Lily. It felt so nice for Remus to be able to be close to Sev again, even if it was just sitting next to each other and holding hands while they all exchanged stories about what happened over the last few weeks.

“He forced Black to go around in girl’s clothing for a day?” Remus asked, grinning, “That’s brilliant!”

“He didn’t think so,” James said, “But I took pictures, I’ll show you later. It was great.”

After a few hours, they all decided it was time to head back to their dormitories. Remus gave Sev a kiss good-bye (and it felt so good), and followed James, Lily, and Peter to the Gryffindor tower. As he did so, he wondered how long he would have James and Peter as his friends. He was a very different Remus from the one they’d become friends with, and while he thought that perhaps he’s loosened up a little, he didn’t think that James and Peter would fully appreciate him.

He and Peter went up to the dormitory together, leaving James and Lily locked in an embrace in the Common Room. Peter chuckled as they passed the two of them, shaking his head.

“Do you think it will last?” Remus asked.

“No idea,” Peter responded, “But at the moment they’re both pretty happy, so I hope so.”

“I swear, I changed nothing in the other universe, but this other Remus comes here and just causes complete chaos everywhere,” Remus said, shaking his head, “Not that I mind, actually.” Peter laughed as he opened the dormitory door, Sirius sitting on his bed.

“So is this why you and James abandoned me tonight?” Sirius demanded.

“We didn’t abandon you,” Peter said, “Remus needed us tonight. He’s our friend now.” Sirius’s eyes flickered over to Remus.

“You’re the right Remus Lupin, now? Everything is back to normal?” Sirius asked. Remus nodded, not wanting to say a word to Sirius. Sirius nodded, standing up.

“Right. Well, if you’re the right Remus now, and James and Peter insist on being friends with you, then I suppose I can be civil to you,” Sirius said.

“I expected you still to hate me, so that’s fine by me. Though, I also expected everything to still be the same when I got back, and it definitely isn’t. At least my relationship with Sev hasn’t changed,” Remus said, not noticing Sirius glancing away quickly at that last sentence.

“Just don’t expect me to be all buddy-buddy. And as for Snivellus… well… I’ll stop calling him Snivellus,” Sirius said.

“I appreciate your attempt to be civil,” Remus said, “But I’m not going to hold my breath, either.”

“I’m doing this for my friends,” Sirius said, “And the first thing you should understand about me is that I will do anything for my friends. Even if it takes a while for me to come around. So if my friends want to be friends with you, then I’m not going to make it difficult for them. That’s all this is.”

“Okay,” Remus said, “As long as James and Peter are my friends, I can expect civility from you.”

“What do you mean as long as we’re your friends?” Peter demanded, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m not – you became friends with the other Remus, who is mischievous, and can pull one over on the three of you with his hands tied behind his back. That’s not me, and you’re going to realise that eventually,” Remus said.

“You’re wrong,” said a voice from behind Remus. Remus turned to see James standing in the doorway, “We know you’re not the same, but we also know you’re capable of everything that Remus can do. But we don’t expect you to be like him. We want to get to know you. This Remus. The one who actually belongs here. Because while the other Remus was great, he didn’t belong here, and he wanted to be back home, and it wasn’t quite right. But you, we want to know, and we want to be friends with.”

“James can be a stubborn git,” Sirius added with a smirk, “You’ve got him for life, now.” Remus was taken aback, hardly able to think, let alone speak. They actually wanted him as a friend? He could hardly believe it.

“I can’t believe you’d think we wouldn’t want you,” Peter scoffed.

“What was I supposed to think, I barely know you,” Remus pointed out.

“That will change. We have a very long time to change that,” James said, “Not to mention, with Lily and I together now, we’re kind of stuck, even if we weren’t friends.”

“And that isn’t why-?”

“What? No!  I’d just be civil if it was purely for Lily,” James said, “Honestly. We should get to bed.” With that, the conversation ended, and Remus went to bed, back home, feeling completely confused about the changes, but glad for them. It would take some getting used to, but he was grateful for this completely crazy adventure. He just hoped it never happened again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we are at the end of this most ridiculous crack!fic that is The Remus Swap. This fic was so completely crazy but so fun to write, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it, just for a laugh.


End file.
